John Adams October 30, 1735 in Quincy, Massachusetts – July 4, 1826 in Quincy, Massachusetts Political Party-Federalist Terms: March 4, 1797 - March 3, 1801 (One term) Vice President: Thomas Jefferson
Thematic Context The beginning of John Adams presidency was a very important time in American history. Washington, the beloved first leader of the United States, had just left office and with it a huge job to fill for the second president. In addition, the election of 1796 was to be the first election with opponents from two different political parties. This was a momentous occasion for the United States as it would develop America’s identity as a country. The party that won would possess the means to develop America’s identity through their beliefs. Therefore, the election was extremely vital to both parties, the Democratic Republicans who wanted more power to the states and strong compliance with the Constitution, and the Federalists who wished for a strong central government. As a result, this election caused many Americans to think about their views and decide which party they would stand behind. In the end, Adams ended up winning the election and becoming the second president of the United States of America. This was a large step for the then very young country. The American people did not know how Federalist the country would become seeing as they now had a Federalist president and prominently Federalist congress, this had a sizable possibility of causing strife among many. Although, as it turned out Adams was not a strong Federalist. Though he did claim to follow the party, he made many decisions based on his own personal opinion. For example, when Adams came into presidency there were several disputes between America and France and so Adams was pressured by his fellow Federalists to declare war against France but he resisted and kept peace. This was a major development in American identity, as it displayed America as a peaceful nation not out for vengeance. This also resulted in the many Americans realizing that it wasn’t always necessary for them to follow their party’s beliefs, changing the thought process of a majority of Americans. Another major development in American identity was the Alien and Sedition Acts, which threatened many people’s freedom and caused anger among countless Americans. This was a major development in America’s identity as it clearly displayed a much more Federalist view. The acts infuriated many Americans because it was clearly unconstitutional and thus many followers of Adam seriously considered their allegiance to him. So as you can see, both of these events resulted in major developments in the identity of the United States of America.
Thesis Throughout his career, John Adams was a tremendously influential man. This carried through into his presidency in which he made many good decisions as well as a few bad. Adams did in fact prevent a war with France and made a huge impact on the federal court system through the appointment of a very important chief justice. Both of these were very good things for the developing America. Although, he did not handle the pressure from the Democratic Republicans well as he made the very unconstitutional Alien and Sedition Acts to restrain the Democratic Republicans. In consideration of all this, I would rate John Adams a B- president because he made many good decisions that impacted the future of America significantly but he also made a few poor decisions.
Goals As with many presidents, Adams’ main goal, as stated in his inaugural address, was to uphold the constitution. Up until the passing of the Alien and Sedition Acts, Adams had accomplished that goal fairly well. However, when he passed these acts that were clearly unconstitutional and obviously violated basic rights such as freedom of press that goal was demolished and he therefore failed his first main goal as president. Throughout Adams’ presidency, it was fairly apparent that a large goal of his was to keep peace with France. Adams did a splendid job of accomplishing this goal by not giving in to war with France even when largely pressured by Congress and his own party. This was Adams’ crowning achievement during his presidency as it was one of his largest goals.
Relationship with Congress To properly understand the Congress during Adams’ presidency it is vital to first have the knowledge that in both the Senate and the House of Representatives Federalists were the prominent party. This meant that the Federalists pretty much had control over Congress. As a result, there was much tension between the Republican Democrats and Federalists and not many acts could be agreed upon enough to pass. For instance, during the Quasi War many Democratic Republicans wished to side with France because of their recent assistance with the Revolutionary War. In contrast, the Federalists wished to remain on the side of Britain. Many followers of Adams agreed with his peaceful approach but on the other hand, followers of Alexander Hamilton, who many in Congress preferred to Adams and wished him to be president, wanted to go the more violent route and declare war. Because of all of this disagreement, it was exceedingly difficult for Adams to find a way to resolve this matter. Though in the end, Adams was able to find a way to end the war in a peaceful manner though it did go against some of the Congress. It is clearly evident that even in this single example that Adams’ relationship with Congress was not stellar. Nevertheless, he was able to accomplish a few things such as the establishment of the Navy and Marine Corps.
Positive Event
Though many things that Adams did had a positive impact, one event does stand out significantly amongst the others. This was Adams making peace with the French. Adams accomplished this through the Convention of 1800, also known as, the Treaty of Mortefontaine. The convention was between the United States of America and France to settle the hostilities that came about during the Quasi-War. After the XYZ affair, in which the French asked for a bribe from the Americans and caused much anger from the colonists, there was much anger over the Quasi War. The Quasi War was an undeclared war in which the French seized American merchant ships from the Caribbean and American Privateers sought revenge against French shipping. After about two years of this “fighting” Adams realized that it was pointless and the Convention of 1800 came about.
This was an extremely positive event for several reasons. First of all, it prevented America from losing a lot of money. Luckily, Adams realized that America did not possess the funding to pay for a war. Thus, he saved much money for America and prevented large sums of debt. In addition, Adams knew that America would be unable to win a conflict of that magnitude with France. By taking this into account, Adams saved many lives that would have been unnecessarily lost and prevented America from uselessly spending copious amounts of money.
Negative Event Many of Adams’ decisions resulted in a fairly positive outcome. Therefore, his decision with the biggest negative effect is quite evident. Adams’ biggest mistake during his presidency was quite obviously the signing off on the Alien and Sedition Acts. The Alien and Sedition Acts were made up of four different laws: the Naturalization Act, Alien Act, Alien Enemies Act, and the Sedition Act. The first, the Naturalization Act, basically elongated the Naturalization Process. The Alien and Alien Enemies Act gave the government more power over aliens. Lastly, the Sedition Act prohibited the writing of criticism of the American government. In response to these acts, many Americans were infuriated and many aliens, though not forced to, left the country out of fear of being forced out. Although many immigrants were affected by this law, it was actually made to restrain Adams’ opponent, Thomas Jefferson, or the Democratic Republicans because they were getting out of hand. Although in the end, these acts ended up hurting Adams more than helping him as Jefferson used this instance as an important issue in his campaign. Hence, these acts were a huge factor in Adams’ loss of the reelection, and thus had a negative outcome.
Influential Decision Because Adams was only the second president of the United States, many things he did influenced the ways of America and set a precedent that had not yet been established. Though, one big decision made a massive difference in one of the most important establishments in our country today, the judiciary system. After the terrible reaction to the Alien and Sedition Acts Adams realized that it was vital that he do something to try to win back some support for his reelection. So at the very end of his term, Adams attempted to correct the judiciary system by appointing new judges and most importantly a new chief justice, John Marshall. John Marshall was key to the development of the judiciary system. Marshalls’ career represents the most longstanding representation of the Federalists. This is because he did many things such as establishing the Judicial Branch as the equal of the Executive and Legislative branches.The effect that John Marshall had on the judiciary system was immense, but it would not even come about had it not been for John Adams who nominated. Therefore, although it wasn’t evident then, which is why it did not win him the election, it is blatantly obvious now how vital this action was to the development into our court system today.
Conclusion In conclusion, John Adams did improve America over his time served as president. He did many things that significantly helped America such as keeping peace with France and nominating John Marshall chief justice. Although Adams did make a few mistakes, the Alien and Sedition Acts, for the most part he truly improved the United States. For that reason, John Adams deserves the grade of B- as a president.
Bibliography
1800, both sides wanted the incident buried, and so the end of hostilities in the Caribbean generally proceeded as smoothly as the end of the French-American alliance. "Convention of 1800 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia." Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Sept. 2012. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Convention_of_1800>.
October 30, 1735 in Quincy, Massachusetts – July 4, 1826 in Quincy, Massachusetts
Political Party-Federalist
Terms: March 4, 1797 - March 3, 1801 (One term)
Vice President: Thomas Jefferson
Thematic Context
The beginning of John Adams presidency was a very important time in American history. Washington, the beloved first leader of the United States, had just left office and with it a huge job to fill for the second president. In addition, the election of 1796 was to be the first election with opponents from two different political parties. This was a momentous occasion for the United States as it would develop America’s identity as a country. The party that won would possess the means to develop America’s identity through their beliefs. Therefore, the election was extremely vital to both parties, the Democratic Republicans who wanted more power to the states and strong compliance with the Constitution, and the Federalists who wished for a strong central government. As a result, this election caused many Americans to think about their views and decide which party they would stand behind.
In the end, Adams ended up winning the election and becoming the second president of the United States of America. This was a large step for the then very young country. The American people did not know how Federalist the country would become seeing as they now had a Federalist president and prominently Federalist congress, this had a sizable possibility of causing strife among many. Although, as it turned out Adams was not a strong Federalist. Though he did claim to follow the party, he made many decisions based on his own personal opinion. For example, when Adams came into presidency there were several disputes between America and France and so Adams was pressured by his fellow Federalists to declare war against France but he resisted and kept peace. This was a major development in American identity, as it displayed America as a peaceful nation not out for vengeance. This also resulted in the many Americans realizing that it wasn’t always necessary for them to follow their party’s beliefs, changing the thought process of a majority of Americans.
Another major development in American identity was the Alien and Sedition Acts, which threatened many people’s freedom and caused anger among countless Americans. This was a major development in America’s identity as it clearly displayed a much more Federalist view. The acts infuriated many Americans because it was clearly unconstitutional and thus many followers of Adam seriously considered their allegiance to him. So as you can see, both of these events resulted in major developments in the identity of the United States of America.
Thesis
Throughout his career, John Adams was a tremendously influential man. This carried through into his presidency in which he made many good decisions as well as a few bad. Adams did in fact prevent a war with France and made a huge impact on the federal court system through the appointment of a very important chief justice. Both of these were very good things for the developing America. Although, he did not handle the pressure from the Democratic Republicans well as he made the very unconstitutional Alien and Sedition Acts to restrain the Democratic Republicans. In consideration of all this, I would rate John Adams a B- president because he made many good decisions that impacted the future of America significantly but he also made a few poor decisions.
Goals
As with many presidents, Adams’ main goal, as stated in his inaugural address, was to uphold the constitution. Up until the passing of the Alien and Sedition Acts, Adams had accomplished that goal fairly well. However, when he passed these acts that were clearly unconstitutional and obviously violated basic rights such as freedom of press that goal was demolished and he therefore failed his first main goal as president.
Throughout Adams’ presidency, it was fairly apparent that a large goal of his was to keep peace with France. Adams did a splendid job of accomplishing this goal by not giving in to war with France even when largely pressured by Congress and his own party. This was Adams’ crowning achievement during his presidency as it was one of his largest goals.
Relationship with Congress
To properly understand the Congress during Adams’ presidency it is vital to first have the knowledge that in both the Senate and the House of Representatives Federalists were the prominent party. This meant that the Federalists pretty much had control over Congress. As a result, there was much tension between the Republican Democrats and Federalists and not many acts could be agreed upon enough to pass. For instance, during the Quasi War many Democratic Republicans wished to side with France because of their recent assistance with the Revolutionary War. In contrast, the Federalists wished to remain on the side of Britain. Many followers of Adams agreed with his peaceful approach but on the other hand, followers of Alexander Hamilton, who many in Congress preferred to Adams and wished him to be president, wanted to go the more violent route and declare war. Because of all of this disagreement, it was exceedingly difficult for Adams to find a way to resolve this matter. Though in the end, Adams was able to find a way to end the war in a peaceful manner though it did go against some of the Congress. It is clearly evident that even in this single example that Adams’ relationship with Congress was not stellar. Nevertheless, he was able to accomplish a few things such as the establishment of the Navy and Marine Corps.
Positive Event
Though many things that Adams did had a positive impact, one event does stand out significantly amongst the others. This was Adams making peace with the French. Adams accomplished this through the Convention of 1800, also known as, the Treaty of Mortefontaine. The convention was between the United States of America and France to settle the hostilities that came about during the Quasi-War. After the XYZ affair, in which the French asked for a bribe from the Americans and caused much anger from the colonists, there was much anger over the Quasi War. The Quasi War was an undeclared war in which the French seized American merchant ships from the Caribbean and American Privateers sought revenge against French shipping. After about two years of this “fighting” Adams realized that it was pointless and the Convention of 1800 came about.
This was an extremely positive event for several reasons. First of all, it prevented America from losing a lot of money. Luckily, Adams realized that America did not possess the funding to pay for a war. Thus, he saved much money for America and prevented large sums of debt. In addition, Adams knew that America would be unable to win a conflict of that magnitude with France. By taking this into account, Adams saved many lives that would have been unnecessarily lost and prevented America from uselessly spending copious amounts of money.
Negative Event
Many of Adams’ decisions resulted in a fairly positive outcome. Therefore, his decision with the biggest negative effect is quite evident. Adams’ biggest mistake during his presidency was quite obviously the signing off on the Alien and Sedition Acts. The Alien and Sedition Acts were made up of four different laws: the Naturalization Act, Alien Act, Alien Enemies Act, and the Sedition Act. The first, the Naturalization Act, basically elongated the Naturalization Process. The Alien and Alien Enemies Act gave the government more power over aliens. Lastly, the Sedition Act prohibited the writing of criticism of the American government. In response to these acts, many Americans were infuriated and many aliens, though not forced to, left the country out of fear of being forced out. Although many immigrants were affected by this law, it was actually made to restrain Adams’ opponent, Thomas Jefferson, or the Democratic Republicans because they were getting out of hand. Although in the end, these acts ended up hurting Adams more than helping him as Jefferson used this instance as an important issue in his campaign. Hence, these acts were a huge factor in Adams’ loss of the reelection, and thus had a negative outcome.
Influential Decision
Because Adams was only the second president of the United States, many things he did influenced the ways of America and set a precedent that had not yet been established. Though, one big decision made a massive difference in one of the most important establishments in our country today, the judiciary system. After the terrible reaction to the Alien and Sedition Acts Adams realized that it was vital that he do something to try to win back some support for his reelection. So at the very end of his term, Adams attempted to correct the judiciary system by appointing new judges and most importantly a new chief justice, John Marshall. John Marshall was key to the development of the judiciary system. Marshalls’ career represents the most longstanding representation of the Federalists. This is because he did many things such as establishing the Judicial Branch as the equal of the Executive and Legislative branches.The effect that John Marshall had on the judiciary system was immense, but it would not even come about had it not been for John Adams who nominated. Therefore, although it wasn’t evident then, which is why it did not win him the election, it is blatantly obvious now how vital this action was to the development into our court system today.
Conclusion
In conclusion, John Adams did improve America over his time served as president. He did many things that significantly helped America such as keeping peace with France and nominating John Marshall chief justice. Although Adams did make a few mistakes, the Alien and Sedition Acts, for the most part he truly improved the United States. For that reason, John Adams deserves the grade of B- as a president.
Bibliography
1800, both sides wanted the incident buried, and so the end of hostilities in the Caribbean generally proceeded as smoothly as the end of the French-American alliance. "Convention of 1800 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia." Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Sept. 2012. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Convention_of_1800>.
"5th United States Congress - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia." Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Sept. 2012. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/5th_United_States_Congress>.
"Alien and Sedition Acts - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia." Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Sept. 2012. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alien_and_Sedition_Acts#Prosecutions>.
John Adams Biography - Facts, Birthday, Life Story - Biography.com ." Famous Biographies & TV Shows - Biography.com . N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Sept. 2012. <http://www.biography.com/people/john-adams-37967>.
"John Adams: Inaugural Address." The American Presidency Project. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Sept. 2012. <http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=25802>.
"John Adams | The White House." The White House. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Sept. 2012. <http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/presidents/johnadams>.
"John Adams - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia." Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Sept. 2012. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Adams#Reelection_campaign_1800>.
Kelly, Martin. "John Adams Fast Facts - Second President John Adams." American History From About. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Sept. 2012. <http://americanhistory.about.com/od/johnadams/a/ff_john_adams.htm>.
"Midnight Judges Act - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia." Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Sept. 2012. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Midnight_Judges_Act>.
"Quasi War." Wikipedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 8 Sept. 2012. <en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quasi_war>.